The Beautiful Brain explores the latest findings from the ever-growing field of neuroscience through monthly long-form essays, reviews, galleries, short-form blog posts and more, with particular attention to the dialogue between the arts and sciences.

One of the largest philosophical mystery of the science of sensation and perception begins with the idea of “qualia.” Qualia is defined as the qualities of a conscious experience. When you see a striking painting, you may notice its vibrant colors, its beautiful brush strokes, or even the smell of aging canvas. These are all qualia. In the following video, Dr. V.S. Ramachandra delves into the idea of qualia and how it relates to consciousness.

The mystery arises when you consider the mechanism of sensation and perception. Do we need an ineffable, subjective experience to sense and to perceive a film, a song, or a painting? If not, why do we have qualia? And even more puzzling, where does it come from? As your grade school teacher might have once said, “there are no right answers.” But as is the nature of science, perhaps the proper adage is “there are no right answers yet.”

You may have caught terms floating around this site and others like neurotheology, neuromarketing, neuroaesthetics, neuroethics, or neuroliterature. More and more, it seems as though “neuro” is getting slapped on any discipline one cares to apply brain science to. So what are the merits of this trend, and does it mean we’re truly living in a time of brain science-driven revolution?

A terrific essay at thevarsity.ca site deals with Zack Lynch’s book “The Neuro Revolution” and the pervasion of the brain sciences into every corner of our society, as well as the somewhat problematic tendency of depending on fMRI studies to reveal truths about our thinking, especially when it comes to the legal sphere.

This weekend, as part of World Maker Faire, TalkingScience will present three performances of the Rock-It Science Cabaret, a science variety show featuring scientists and performers illustrating principles of physics, chemistry, and biology.

Ira Flatow, host of NPR’s live news/talk show Science Friday, will introduce the Rock-It Science Cabaret, and will be available at Science Friday’s booth at Maker Faire to meet and talk to fans after he leaves the Science Stage on Saturday.

Each of the Rock-It Science Cabaret’s three performances will feature a different program, with acts including:

Brainy music by The Amygdaloids, NYU neuroscientists led by Joseph LeDoux who sing about how the inside of your head works (Special note: Beautiful Brain editor Noah Hutton will be sitting in on drums for the Amygdaloids on Saturday)

In a new article in Science, a group of researchers led by Geraint Rees from University College London, suggest they have a found a neural correlate for introspection. The region of interest is the anterior prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is also implicated in other higher cognitive behaviors like planning, decision-making, social intelligence, and determining predicted outcomes of one’s actions [it is the frontal cortex that was damaged in the infamous case of Phineas Gage].

“Introspection” was measured by having people answer a tough question, and subsequently measure how the result of their answer (right vs wrong) affected their confidence in their own decision making in a series of follow up questions. More introspection meant a correlation between the result of their early answers to their confidence in later ones; in a sense, introspection is the meta-analysis of one’s own thoughts. FMRI data showed that increased gray matter volume in the prefrontal cortex was correlated with high levels of introspection.

Dopamine is a key neurotransmitter released in our brains when we do something rewarding. The dopaminergic system is behind most good feelings we have, and it is also the chemical that is targeted by highly addictive drugs such as cocaine.

To create this beautiful micrograph of dopamine crystals, Spike Walker, who won Thursday evening’s Royal Photographic Society‘s Combined Royal Colleges Medal, shone polarized light at the minute chemical structures. The crystals reflect light at different wavelengths depending on their orientations within the overall chemical structure. According to Walker, using this technique highlights more detail in the crystal structure than regular observation through a microscope.

Courtesy of my favorite hip-hop blog, 2DOPEBOYZ comes a unique track from rapper Prince Ea, a St. Louis-born University of Missouri student. The track is called “The Brain,” and features Ea (pronounced “E”) performing “a lyrical look into the three-pound organ between the ears and behind the eyes.” Pretty impressive for the young MC. I look forward to hearing more of Prince Ea’s rhymes about science.